An Introduction to the Incas

Veronika Macas

That we know anything at all about the Inca Empire is utterly ironic.

Because they passed down their wisdom and traditions orally, myths about the Incas abound, and relatively little is known about the lives of this ancient people. But unlike the cultures who preceded them, whose histories were wiped out almost entirely by conquering forces, details of the Incan empire remain partially intact today thanks to the very people that destroyed their culture: the Spanish.

Even when the Spanish conquered places, they made significant efforts to chronicle the existing cultures. Some of the most famous chroniclers of this period include Bernabé Cobo, Garcilaso de la Vega and Luis Miguel Glave.

An Inca By Any Other Name

Quecha Society and Status

The Quechua word “Inca” is used to describe one person only—the ruling emperor himself—though we could broadly interpret it to include the ruling elite. It’s actually incorrect to use it to describe the Quechua people under the Inca rule, though we do so for simplicity’s sake.

The Inca, who was considered to be a direct descendant of the Sun, was the head of state and religion, the icon for the empire. It was a strongly hierarchical society: after the Inca came the nobles, who were referred to as the orejones because of their elongated earlobes—an indication of their rank. Below them were the commoners, referred to as the ayllus.

The ayllus were responsible for the construction of the perfectly built temples and fortresses of the time. They worked not as slaves, but rather in lieu of payment of their taxes.

At its zenith, the Incan empire spread from what is today the northern part of Chile all the way to Ecuador, spanning 5,500 km (3,400 miles) in length. It was ruled from the central pulpit of Cuzco, from where the roads were said to span out to all four corners of the empire.